The Tennessee State Quarter

On January 2, 2002, the Tennessee State Quarter, sixteenth in the U.S. Mint's 50
States Quarters Program, became the first state quarter released into circulation in the year 2002.

The design of the quarter presents the musical heritage of Tennessee;
by representing three of the distinct musical traditions of the Volunteer State. The fiddle represents
the Appalachian music of eastern Tennessee where the Great Smokey Mountains pour into the state.
The trumpet represents the jazz and blues heritage of western Tennessee where Memphis and the Beale
Street Historic District memorialize the tradition. The guitar represents country music, prevalent
in central Tennessee and generated with a fervor from The Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. Sheet music
emphasizes the impact of these three musical traditions on the United States and on the world.

A banner below the instruments reads "MUSICAL HERITAGE". 1796 is the year
that Tennessee became a part of the United States of America. The three stars echo the three distinct
musical traditions of Tennessee. One can almost feel the rhythms and hear the melodies of this
great state.

Back in March, 2000, Governor Don Sundquist announced a statewide
contest that called for students, artists, and citizens to submit state quarter design concepts
to a 17-member Tennessee Coin Commission by June 1, 2000. Almost 1,000 ideas were submitted, of
which three were chosen by the Governor and his Tennessee Coin Commission for submission to the
United States Mint; Musical Heritage, Women's Suffrage (Tennessee was the final state to ratify the
19 Amendment.) and Native American Sequoyah, developer of the first writing system for the Cherokee
people.

From the three concepts submitted, five approved renditions were returned to
Governor Sundquist. He chose a rendition of "Musical Heritage," a concept that had been submitted by
Mr. Shawn Stookey, a teacher at Lakeview Elementary in New Johnsonville, Tennessee.

On January 14, 2002, the official unveiling of the coin took place in Nashville
at the Country Music Hall of Fame. On hand for the ceremonies were Governor Don Sundquist, U.S. Mint
Director Henrietta Holsman Fore and Treasurer of the United States Rosario Marin as well as a host of
well-known performers and hundreds of other Tennesseans. Concept winner, Mr. Shawn Stookey
was in attendance along with students from the Lakeview Elementary School.

The Hillsboro High School "Sophisticats" kicked off the ceremonies with a
Tennessee song medley. Ricky Scaggs sang "Amazing Grace," Ruby Wilson sang "The Tennessee Waltz," and
Isaac Hayes sang "God Bless America." Country Music Foundation Board of Officers and Trustees
President Marty Stuart closed the program with the timeless song, "Will the Circle Be Unbroken."